If you’ve been keeping up with the Kardashians or following the pop culture news, you probably have heard about Kanye West’s recent confirmation as a converted Christian. Yes, Kanye West. THE Kanye West, a celebrity who has caused many controversies throughout his career and is often criticized for his misogynistic lyrics and provocative remarks. As unpredictable as he has always been, he has been leading pop-up churches and mega worship sessions, called “Sunday Service” across the US, and recently released an album entitled Jesus is King.

Following his declaration, he has since faced both backlash and support from the public, Christians, and the Christian hip hop community. My thoughts about his recent conversion are mixed. How do we respond to this? Is he a true Christian? Did he really experience a spiritual transformation despite the way he was living his life? Is this all just a publicity stunt or an image-correcting scheme?

My Initial Response

I would be lying if I said I was optimistic when I first read the news about him being born-again. My very first impression was of skepticism and judgment, which I am not proud of. I remember thinking “Yeah, right!”, which was sad as how much it said about me: disbelief in how God CAN work in anyone’s life regardless of how “unworthy” they might seem to us.

I was (and still am) struggling to make sense of the possible goodness (or maybe even greatness!) and potential harm that could come out of this transformation. I can see how someone as famous as Kanye can positively shape our culture if his testimony rings true. But if not, I worry about people misunderstanding Christianity, thinking that you can be a Christian while living a life displeasing to God (more of this excellently elaborated by The Gospel Coalition). This has always been my initial thought towards celebrities with a huge platform, like Kanye West, Justin Bieber, and Selena Gomez; all of whom have previously declared their faith in Jesus.

How My Thoughts Shifted

Thankfully, the Holy Spirit prompted me to reflect on my own flaws and judgmental attitude because I was judging them like I was better than them. I was reminded that there are no big and little sins in God’s eyes. Any kind of iniquity separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2).

I was also reminded of the story of how Paul came to know Christ. Formerly the greatest persecutor of Christians, Paul was probably the last person others suspected to pioneer missions in the history of the early church. He proceeded to become one of the most influential figures in the Bible. This reminder shifted my sight back to God, the One who is not limited to any circumstances and can work in anyone’s life no matter how broken, sinful and horrible they seem. God is omnipotent and it is not at all impossible for Him to change Kanye’s life.

After these realizations, I was rebuked that instead of praying for God to work in and through Kanye, I was mostly skeptical. This is not to say that we shouldn’t be cautious and concerned, or blindly celebrate him as a new Christian role model. I understand there are questions regarding the nature of his Sunday Service. If his testimony is genuine, we would be able to tell by the fruits it will yield, which is to be followed with massive changes in how he lives his life (Matthew 12:33). However, we are not called to judge and look down on someone who is pursuing God, or anyone really (Matthew 7:1-6).

Final Thoughts

The bottom line is that we can never know whether one is truly saved by God, and it is not our place to judge others. We also might never know if this is all a marketing tactic or if he has truly encountered God and is truly following Jesus. All we know is that the Scriptures are full of stories of those who lived sinful lives or made mistakes (the apostle Paul, King David, the thief on the cross and so on) but received God’s abounding grace and were utterly transformed to spread the message of salvation to the world. So, let’s be prayerful and hopeful, instead of skeptical and judgmental, and rejoice that people are hearing the Gospel through Kanye’s testimony and album (Philippians 1:18).

I am sure all of us can relate with suffering, whether it’s through physical ailments, financial struggles, broken relationships, death of loved ones - the list goes on. I was particularly stretched to my limits of enduring suffering this year. It was one of the lowest points of my life. Life seemingly had no purpose as I was deeply drowned in the fact that I was suffering so much and there was no way out. But praise God that He is close to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18) and thanks to Him, I might have a glimpse of understanding on how our suffering is not meaningless in Him.

Stop Searching for the Reason

As part of my defense mechanism for making sense of suffering, I needed to justify why I had to go through so many of life’s struggles and challenges. Why me? Why this and not that? Why God why? I thought if I knew the reason behind all the suffering, it would make sense and make me feel better. It seemed like a natural response when faced with suffering. But it revealed how little faith I had in Him. Why do I need an answer or reason to trust Him after Jesus Himself went through the ultimate suffering? I failed to focus on God’s will, which is what Jesus perfectly exemplified in Gethsemane (Luke 22:42). Francis Chan’s quote from Job 11:7 sums up my first point: “Can you worship a God who isn’t obligated to explain His actions to you?”

I stopped searching for the reason of my struggles, and found myself reminded of completely trusting Him with whatever story He is creating through my life’s journey. (Jeremiah 29:11)

To be Purified as Gold

Suffering is part of refining our character as gold. I heard it a lot and believed it up until I went through it. Then I started doubting how it could possibly be good for me. But I was saved again by God’s unrelenting grace when suffering revealed my sins: how highly I think of myself and think that I don’t deserve all of life’s burdens. I wasn’t walking closely with Him. I wasn’t intimate with Him. Through utter dependence on Him, I was able to personalize the meaning of His character-building process in which He is sanctifying us from within for our own good. (James 1:2-4)

This is Not Our Home

There must be a place without suffering since we all long for that. And suffering is a constant reminder that this world is not our home. God never promised a life of comfort. If we look at the Bible, we see how everyone went through suffering and how it’s not the point. 

The point has always been how God is glorified in our life and that it is His story, not ours.

Paul’s bold statement “For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21) shows how we ought to fix our eyes on Christ in our life while looking forward to eternal unity with Him after this “short” affliction on earth.

I am thankful that He is a sovereign God, for whatever happens, He is always in control. It is my current journey to really experience His miracle of joy and comfort in the midst of my struggles. I think this song is a really good reflection of what this post is all about. Enjoy! J